Colorado Rockies news and links for Friday, January 17, 2025
With an arctic blast descending on Colorado this weekend and temperatures reaching well below zero, it’s a good time to think about spring training in the Cactus League, specifically near Scottsdale, Arizona where temperatures average in the mid-70s in February and will be in the mid-60s this weekend.
Even though the non-roster invites for spring training aren’t expected to be announced until late January or early February, it isn’t too soon to look at some of the dates, notes and early storylines for the Rockies in 2025.
Spring training schedule
In 27 days, the Rockies will hold their first workout. In 35 days, they will play their first spring training game and complete the 35-game schedule on March 25. In 70 days, the Rockies will open the 2025 regular season. Here’s a snapshot of the big days:
Thurs., Feb. 13: pitchers and catchers first workout
Tues., Feb. 18: Full squad first workout
Fri., Feb. 21: First spring training game vs. Diamondbacks (1:10 p.m. MT)
Sun., March 16: Spring Breakout vs. White Sox (3:05 p.m. MT)
Tues., March 25: Last spring training game vs. Minnesota Twins (11:05 a.m. MT)
Fri., March 28: Season Opener at Tampa Bay Rays (2:10 p.m.)
Spring Breakout is back
Following up a successful debut in 2024, the Spring Breakout will return this March when each team’s roster consists of only its top prospects. Last year, the Rockies lost to Arizona, 3-1. Drew Romo hit two singles and drove in the Rockies’ only run. Zac Veen added a double and single, while Chase Dollander, Sean Sullivan and Carson Palmquist all threw a hitless, scoreless inning. This year, the Rockies take on the Chicago White Sox on March 16 at Camelback Ranch. Of the 12 Rockies who made their MLB debuts in 2024, six were on the Spring Breakout roster (Romo, Jaden Hill, Angel Chivilli, Seth Halvorsen, Adael Amador, Jordan Beck).
15th anniversary for Salt River Fields at Talking Stick
After hosting its first Cactus League game on Feb. 26, 2011, Salt River Fields at Talking Stick will celebrate its 15th season as the home of the Colorado Rockies and Arizona Diamondbacks in 2025. The teams partnered with the Salt River Pima-Maricopa Indian Community on the project, which become the first spring training facility to be built on Indian land. Housing the 11,000-seat stadium, 12 practice fields, minor and major League clubhouses, training facilities and offices for both teams, the complex remains one of the best in baseball.
Much too early storylines
The biggest storyline for the Rockies is health and injury recoveries. The rotation has struggled since 2022 when Germán Márquez and Antonio Senzatela suffered a series of injuries and have combined to pitch 44 innings over 10 starts since. Both of their attempted comebacks in 2024 were short-lived. Their abilities to return to the mound in 2025 could not only help determine the fate of another 100-loss season for the Rockies, but the outlooks for the rest of their careers, in seasons where they both turn 30, as well.
Relievers Tyler Kinley and Lucas Gilbreath are also hoping for healthy seasons after Kinley ended 2024 on the 15-day IL and Gilbreath only made three appearances after missing all of 2023 due to Tommy John surgery and then shoulder inflammation.
Then there is Kris Bryant, who has played in 159 games in three seasons as a Rockie (never more than 80 in one season). At 33, can Bryant, plagued by chronic back issues due to a missing disc in his lower back and severe arthritis, stay on the field and contribute?
Other questions include a range of quandaries: Will Nolan Jones bounce back? Can Drew Romo be the Rockies catcher of the future or will Hunter Goodman take the lead? Will Victor Vodnik, Tyler Kinley or someone emerge as the closer? Can the Rockies find a way to strike out less? Can this team bring homers back to Coors Field? What will the new City Connect jerseys look like?
In one month, the answers will begin to reveal themselves.
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How Productive Were Those Outs? Team Edition | FanGraphs
The Rockies aren’t featured in many national stories, and when they are, it’s usually not good. That’s the case here as Ben Clemens explains in his analysis of productive outs, as measured by out advancement runs, where the Rockies ranked dead last in MLB at -21.1 (the next worst was Seattle at -12.2). The culprits? A massive amount of double plays and strikeouts.
Former Rockies, Red Sox Reliever Daniel Bard Mapping Out Return to MLB | SI.com
When the 2024 season ended, so did Daniel Bard’s two-year, $19-million deal with the Rockies. After not pitching in MLB at all in 2024 due to elbow surgery in May, Bard is now rehabbing with hopes of signing with a team in April and playing in 2025. The 39-year-old has demonstrated he’s pretty good at comebacks.
Voice of the Colorado Rockies Jack Corrigan Remembers Bob Uecker | KOA Colorado/iHeart
Celebrated announcer and baseball lifer, Bob Uecker, passed away at the age of 90 on Thursday. There are tributes all over the internet, but this one features stories of Rockies radio announcer Jack Corrigan.
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